Can There Be a Holistic Approach to Jobs, Education, Healthcare AND the Environment?

Monday, I attended the White House African American Women's Forum geared toward black women in positions of leadership.  While many attendees were in formal leadership positions, many of us were also leaders in our families, community organizations or churches.   We were there to hear about and discuss topics that are important to our community, such as economic security, healthcare and education. The distinguished speakers and panelists included: Dr. Regina Benjamin, U.S. Surgeon General; Gene Sperling, Assistant to the President and Director of the National Economic Council and Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to President Obama. There were several other notable panelists that you can view on the program I posted above.

The icing on the cake was the surprise visit from our very lovely First Lady, Mrs. Michelle Obama! Valerie Jarrett introduced her after sharing with us how very caring and compassionate she and President Obama are and how much they both truly care about the American people. Let me just say that Mrs. Obama is even more beautiful in person and not just outwardly. She has a beautiful spirit and actually thanked us for all that we do in our communities. Obama 2012!

So,  on to my point. We talked about all these issues that are affecting our communities in very significant ways. There are so many great ideas and established programs that are addressing these issues, but we have a long way to go.  One thing I would like for us to visit is the capacity for the environment to be integrated into the discussion.  I think we often feel that the environmental movement does not include us because of what the average environmental activist looks like.  This is so far from the truth. Minorities, urban populations and low-income people are those most likely to be impacted from environmental degradation so isn't it up to us to fight for our rights to clean air, clean water and a more sustainable future?

My thinking is that there has to be a way to integrate jobs, education, healthcare AND the environment in a way that addresses each issue.

SO, here are the facts:

• President Obama wants to double exports over the next five years, according to Gene Sperling, Director of the National Economic Council.
• The American education system needs to be revamped to encourage innovative thinking that will take us into the future.
• Environmental health is a real issue that needs to be addressed, particularly when it comes to air quality and its impact on asthma rates among African American children.
• There is a global need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions so that we can work toward a healthier and more sustainable future.

Renewable energy technology is one area in which we can begin to address these issues.  For instance, there are several areas in developing nations that grapple with unreliable electricity.  Most of these areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa see over 300 days of sunlight per year. This is ideal where solar power is concerned.  I know that renewable energy technology is cost prohibitive in the majority of these areas. However, I wonder if we can examine the possibility of using carbon credits to fund the projects. This has happened in India as well as many countries in the developing world. Many of these projects are entrepreneurial in nature, but are generally not US based. Now, I'm not even going to try and explain carbon credits here: I found a number of links that can offer much more information. Take a gander if you'd like :-)

• Article about carbon credits in India
• Carbon credits for dummies
• Carbon credits and entrepreneurship
• Carbon Africa, LTD

So, in a nutshell I think we need to view things a bit differently than we have in the past. Do we not have the expertise to build and export renewable energy technologies to the places that need them? Can't we expose the next generation of entrepreneurs to the possibilities available in such an industry?  America has traditionally been a country of innovators. I think we should get back to that.